


Trade Mistakes

by lunarpidge



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Angst, Eventual Relationships, Fluff, M/M, Rough Oral Sex, Smut, Trans Male Character, although towards the very end, he's just a cute kid with a crush, ill work on this, kyle is also 19, kyle is trans, slight gladion/mc???, the angst is gonna be... real bad, uh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-03
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-06 06:57:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8739259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarpidge/pseuds/lunarpidge
Summary: Guzma is the trash king. Kyle is a trash can. Love ensues. (Title was 'All of the Stars'. I felt this fit better!)





	1. Chapter 1

Kyle slinks towards the big wall that separates Po Town from the rest of the world. It’s storming and his clothes are soaked through but he’s still clinging to his little bag, hoping his Pokemon are at least warm in their balls. Weavile stands at alert next to Kyle, obviously not bothered by the piercing rain. “Are you ready?” He asks it, voice only shaking a little. It nods and raises its claws, ready for action. At least _someone_ is. Kyle slips into the inner walls, hoping not to run into grunts yet. He wasn’t particularly bothered by them, he just really wanted to save his ass-kicking for the trash lord himself. For Guzma.

 

As he and Weavile sneak around the premises, Kyle makes one sure note of the place. It’s a fucking _wreck_. Maybe Kyle could help clean things up after he beats Guzma. Again. He manages to get past grunts, getting stopped by only one that was on top of a random ass truck in the middle of the road for whatever reason. Seriously. It’s raining like hell. You’re gonna catch a cold, dude. Just get in the truck under your stupid feet.

 

Once Kyle is inside of the mansion, he takes a moment to look around. The place is almost even more trashed than the rest of the town. There’s a grunt to the right that doesn’t even notice Kyle as he explores to the left. Weavile sifts through the piles of garbage, giving things to Kyle that it finds valuable so he can stash it in his bag for safe-keeping. They exit out of a door to the far left that opens to an empty pool. Team Skull sure is living the life, aren’t they? He spots a member and quickly ducks back inside and wanders around some more.

 

As quietly as possible, Kyle lets Mismagius out of its PokeBall. “Can you please go snoop around? Preferably without you being seen. Find me when you're done.” Mismagius does a happy twirl around Kyle and then disappears, off to find out all of Guzma’s secrets. Kyle isn’t even sure if he _wants_ to know all of them. He probably has a sex dungeon hidden somewhere. As he’s peeking into a dark room, trying to make sense of the shapes and shadows, he hears a small, frightened sound come from Weavile. Which does not happen. Kyle whirls around and is met with a bag being forced over his head and a rough kick to the gut. The bag nearly cuts off Kyle’s air supply as he’s hoisted over someone’s shoulder and carried _somewhere_. Literally what the fuck is happening. This doesn’t happen to good guys.

 

After a few minutes of being carried around like a sack of potatoes that fights back too much, Kyle is thrown onto a hard floor and the bag is ripped off of his head. His hands had been tied at some point and the first thing he notices is Weavile being restrained by two grunts. The second thing he notices is Guzma admiring the rest of his PokeBalls in his bag. “Don’t touch them!” Kyle sputters, suddenly fearing for his Pokemon’s safety more than his own.

 

“Calm down, girl,” a random third grunt barks and he twists to give his most menacing death glare.

 

“I’m not a fucking girl.”

 

“Well,” Guzma starts, gaining back Kyle’s attention while tossing one of his PokeBalls in the air and catching it carelessly. “It doesn’t really matter what ya are because for the time being, yer just Team Skull’s prisoner.” He gives Kyle a menacing grin, his lips seeming to curl at the corners like a horror movie villain.

 

Well. Fuck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> guzma is a drama queen

Kyle finally relaxes once Guzma stops fucking around with his Pokemon. There had been a few questions about the seemingly random empty PokeBall in the bag but he managed to ward Guzma away from suspecting Mismagius. Weavile had also been returned to its ball.

 

“So yer name is Kyle, is it?” Guzma asks, sneering a bit while looking at Kyle’s Hoenn trainer card. “Champion of the whole region and yet you settle down as a simple gym leader and then make your way to Alola.” He flings the card behind him into a random pile of clothing and it feels like Kyle’s heart is ripped out and thrown into the pile as well. He may never find that card again. Guzma continues to rummage through the bag, making snide comments every so often and Kyle busies himself with trying to get his bindings undone.

 

“You know,” Kyle says, cocking his head at Guzma after being unsuccessful at escaping. “Being tied up sure is kinky but it would be nice if you would fucking untie me. I’m surrounded. Where would I be able to run?” He’s getting really tired of the rope rubbing against his wrists in such an unpleasant manner and it was making him especially irritable. Hopefully his smart mouth doesn’t get him actually beheaded.

 

Guzma snorts at Kyle’s remark and nods curtly at one of the grunts. “No funny business, ya hear?” One of the grunts closest to Kyle unties the ropes and he practically falls over with relief.

 

“Gotcha, Guz.”

 

“Yer gonna be more trouble than yer worth, aren’t ya?”

 

“Then why keep me?”

 

Guzma doesn’t answer and instead snorts again. _Is his nose okay_? Kyle wonders. He seems to snort a lot. Does he do cocaine? The skull boss makes a hand motion and the grunts that have just been lingering around the room grab Kyle by the arms and carry him out of the colorful room. “Guys, I can walk by myself.” No answer. As they pass rooms, Kyle catches a glimpse of Mismagius fading in out of the wall. He perks up at the sight of his Pokemon. Things aren’t _too_ hopeless.

 

+++

 

Kyle tries his best to sleep on the lumpy mattress but it makes him want to break his own spine. Is this really how they live? How can they stand this? About an hour after the ruckus outside of the room dies down, Mismagius finally floats into view. “Hi, Maggie,” Kyle whispers to the Pokemon with a smile. It hovers close to Kyle, its form flickering nervously. “We’ll get out of this as long as we have each other. Don’t worry,” he says, mostly to himself. They stay up for a long while into the night, Kyle talking to Mismagius and the ghost seeming to acknowledge what he says. He brainstorms escape plans, thankful as all hell he had somehow convinced Guzma the empty ball was just a keepsake. Not that they could catch Mismagius unless it wanted to be caught, but still. Kyle finally drifts to sleep, dreaming of odd romantic scenarios with Guzma.

 

+++

 

Guzma is lounging in his purple throne sometime in the morning when one of the balls from Kyle’s bag shakes almost violently and a Pokemon pops out. He recognizes the Pokemon as that pesky Weavile from before and jumps up with a shout. The Weavile immediately assumes a fighting stance, reaching for Kyle’s bag. Guzma searches his pockets frantically, looking for the ball containing Golisopod. _Where the hell is it_?! By the time he finds it (on his bed of all places!), the Weavile is gone and so is the bag. He isn’t sure how long it’ll take for the Pokemon to find Kyle but he assumes it won’t be too long. Guzma shouts into a radio for grunts to grab the Pokemon and the boy. The only answer from the radio for a few moments is static until a breathless voice says that they’re not in the room. Grunts are combing the grounds. He’ll be found.

 

He screeches for Plumeria to accompany him and he storms out into the morning rainstorm. He could just let him go but he couldn’t. Stupid, stupid Guzma. Should’ve kept him in his room. He finally spots Kyle near the blockade and sprints towards him, Golisopod not far behind. Kyle’s whole team is surrounding him, fighting off grunts. It’s like a prison break. Froslass is freezing grunts’ feet to the ground. Alakazam is mega evolved and hitting people with spoons. A Mismagius is flying in circles overhead, shooting shadow balls at random grunts. Where had the Mismagius _come from_? Sylveon is growling at Plumeria, snapping its ribbons at her legs. Decidueye seems mostly unconcerned, blowing grunts away when needed. And Kyle and Weavile are back-to-back, circling and ready for combat. It’s obviously his partner.

 

“We have the upper-hand,” Guzma whispers to himself and Golisopod and the giant bug roars as much as a bug can. Golisopod uses pin missile, catching the ice types off-guard. Kyle seems stunned himself and Guzma uses that opportunity to rush in and catch Kyle in a choke-hold. “Thought ya could get away, eh?” He asks, laughing breathlessly. He finds Kyle’s struggle against his arm amusing. Although he slouches, Guzma is tall and Kyle’s feet don’t even touch the ground as he holds him. “No point in struggling, sweetheart,” he hisses into his ear and Guzma isn’t sure if it’s tears or the rain that runs down his arm but he really doesn't care. He begins to carry Kyle back to the mansion, careful not to actually choke him while he does. When Guzma looks back, the Mismagius is gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mayb guz isnt that bad ?

Kyle is soon a prisoner in Guzma’s own room this time. He had taken the liberty of hiding his own bag before actually making a break for it but it’s not like he’ll be getting to it anytime soon. He’s just comforted in the fact that Team Skull won’t be able to get their grubby hands on it. Kyle’s hand subconsciously moves to his neck. Speaking of grubby hands, the choke-hold had hurt. A lot. He really didn’t mind being choked but what Guzma did was not safe, sane, or consensual. Then again, none of this was really consensual.

 

Kyle misses his Pokemon. Every now and then when Guzma is off doing Team Skull things, Mismagius pops in to keep him company but Kyle can only imagine the trouble it’s getting itself into while it’s alone for so long. He hopes it goes to keep the others company. He is sitting cross-legged and deep in his thoughts on Guzma’s bed when Guzma throws a small bag of chips at him. He hadn't even noticed that the man had come in the room and it startles him. He ends up juggling the bag for a second before actually catching it. “Do you guys not eat anything _healthy_?” Kyle mutters but the rumble in his stomach protests against his protest. Defeated before Guzma even says anything, he slowly opens the bag.

 

“Hey kid.” Guzma says from his stupid purple throne. “If imma be keepin’ ya ‘round here, I might as well teach ya about Team Skull and whatnot.” He makes a vague hand gesture.

 

Kyle knits his eyebrows together. “Why don’t you just let me go instead of going through the trouble?”

 

Guzma seems to consider the question. He opens his mouth and closes it again. He then says, “Gotta set an example for the grunts, yanno? You were snooping around our shit, homie, we gotta stand up for ourselves. Ain’t nobody gonna do it for us.”

 

Kyle leans against the railing of the bed. “I can actually understand that,” he says, surprising himself. He picks at his shirt, not sure what else to say. He can feel Guzma’s stare on him and he slowly looks up to meet his eyes. “These clothes are wet.”

 

Guzma makes a face and then remembers their little rendezvous in the storm yesterday morning. Kyle had never changed out of his wet clothing. Guzma hadn’t considered it. He stands up awkwardly and digs through a clothing pile. He throws a tee shirt and some sweatpants to Kyle. “Change into those,” he says, crossing his arms.

 

Kyle is already engulfed in the clothing before it’s even put on. “Don’t look,” he squeaks, quickly getting changed once Guzma turns around. He rubs his arms, chilly. “What if I get hypothermia? Or pneumonia? It’ll all be your fault.” Kyle says matter-of-factly. Guzma scoffs and throws his jacket to Kyle as well. It’s fucking huge on him but it’s warm and smells… nice. He gets so wrapped up in wrapping himself in the gigantic sleeves that he doesn’t even notice when Guzma sits next to him until he puts a hand on his shoulder. Kyle yelps in alarm, really not wanting to be near the man even if he was wearing his clothes. He wasn’t even sure where Guzma had slept that night but he was so thankful it wasn’t near him.

 

“Do you know the Mismagius that was helping you?”

 

It was a simple question but certainly not one Kyle was really expecting. He decides to play innocent. “What Mismagius?”

 

“There was one helping ya yesterday, but it disappeared.”

 

“All of these paint fumes must be getting to you.” Kyle twirls a finger around the room, motioning vaguely at the brightly colored room.

 

Guzma narrows his eyes, wanting a straight answer but not sure how to get it. Kyle shrugs and reaches forward, trying to take his shades. Guzma wasn’t that bad… he was just trying to be playful. With nearly lightning speed, Guzma grabs Kyle’s wrist and twists it. “Do not touch them. They're Gucci.”

 

“Okay, drama queen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i havent slept in like two days. i wanted to keep writing so i cranked this out. it's probably just a mixture of fics ive read recently. im TRYING


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i dont know what's happening anymore

Being trapped in Team Skull’s boss’s room goes just about how you might expect. He spends most of his time sitting in his “throne” doing absolutely nothing besides telling the odd grunt that finds their way in what to do. He only leaves the room every now and then and that’s when Kyle takes it upon himself to explore the room. He eventually finds his old trainer card in that pile of clothes, much to his delight. It doesn’t smell too bad and he gives it to Mismagius so it can return the card to his bag.  Compared to the rest of the mansion and Po Town, the room was fairly clean besides the paint splatter on the wall and carpet. There was a chest overflowing with… Buginium? Guzma sure does love his bugs. The thought brings a small smile to his lips. Guzma the big bad bug boy.

 

After a fruitless attempt at trying to see if Guzma has a random secret exit or something, Kyle collapses onto the bed. Not long after, the man himself, the Big G, the big cheese himself, Guzma, comes into the room. He doesn’t say anything per usual but instead sits and smacks the keyboard on his ever-present laptop a few times. Kyle doubts they even have Wi-Fi. He crosses his arms and says, “It’s  _ really  _ fucking boring to just sit around here. How about a battle? If I win, I can go. If not, I’ll actually surrender to you.” It’s sort of risky but he was planning on Mismagius appearing and making Guzma shit himself. He’s suddenly pretty glad he hadn’t used Maggie against him before. 

 

Guzma laughs. He  _ actually laughs at Kyle. _ “Yer Pokemon are gone. Poof. Disappeared. Think ya could beat me in a fist fight?”

 

As if on cue, Mismagius appears to Kyle’s right and does its happy twirl around him. Nothing ever really seems to bother it and Kyle tends to rely on its optimism in tight spots. Such as right then. Guzma’s eyes  narrow angrily, eyeing the ghost with distaste. “So this pest  _ is _ yours, eh?” It’s not really a question. Kyle doesn’t answer.

 

_ “Maaagius!” _

 

“Fine. We’ll battle. One-on-one.”

 

They go outside; straight into a sheet of rain. Kyle shivers even with the jacket still on but tries not to let Guzma know how the cold affects him. Weakness was obviously not something Guzma would tolerate, even from Kyle. It’s not a very long battle, really. Golisopod was tough but not much of a match for Maggie and when he wins, Kyle actually begins jumping around, cheering. Finally, he was getting out of here! He motions for Mismagius to follow him and turns to go start mission "Find and Retrieve My Bag". He's taken about two steps before Guzma strides over and blocks his path.

 

“What the fuck, get out of my way.”

 

“Yer not goin’ anywhere.”

 

“Excuse me? I won. Fuck out of my way.”

 

Guzma gets close to Kyle, bending over so they were nose-to-nose. Kyle still couldn’t tell if the dark around his eyes was makeup or if he just never sleeps but Kyle was still ready to _not_ be so close to the man. He wishes more than ever that Weavile was there to cut Guzma to ribbons and he looks away, studying the ground at his feet.

 

“I find ya too interesting to let ya just leave,” Guzma remarks. 

 

“ _ Excuse me _ ?” Kyle repeats.

 

“I said I find ya interesting. Don’t think it’s a compliment, though.” He straightens back up and claps loudly. Two grunts emerge from the mansion and grab Kyle’s arms like they did the first time. 

 

_ They’re like mindless, obedient creatures _ , he thinks to himself. Kyle is, once again, thrown into the stupid room with the giant stupid bed and stupid Buginium chest. Stupid Guzma. Stupid grunts. Stupid Team Skull. Not keeping his word was extremely deceitful and dishonorable. All the words starting with “D” that mean bad things. Kyle had to admit, though, this was the most interesting thing that had happened to him in a while. He had been a ghost-type gym leader, a champion, and even a contest star. Getting kidnapped certainly was new. He’d have to tell Brendan about it if and when he goes back to Hoenn.

 

The door opens after what seems like forever and Kyle tenses, expecting Guzma. Instead, it’s a woman with very interesting hair. What was her name? Plumbob? "Guz..." She trails off once she notices Kyle. She seems just as surprised to see Kyle sitting there as he was to see her standing there. Had Guzma  _ really  _ not told her he was keeping a fucking person in his room? Typical.

 

“Are you Guzma’s new play-thing?”

 

“Excuse me?” That seems to be a question Kyle asks. A lot.

 

“Or are you not here on your own accord?” Was she going to help him?

 

“Apparently both.”

 

She narrows her eyes and turns as Guzma waltzes into the room. “Plumeria? What’re you doin’ in here?”

 

“Talkin’ to your little ‘friend’. What the fuck do you think you’re doing by kidnapping someone?”

 

“Look, she wandered into  _ my  _ to-”

 

“I’m a boy.”

 

Guzma waves his hand dismissively. “You look n’ sound like a girl. I’ve been callin’ ya a boy but it’s real confusin-”

  
Plumeria snorts loudly, interrupting him. “If you’re going to keep him here, at  _ least  _ respect him. I know it’s hard for you to have an open mind with your head so far up your own ass but I will bring hellfire down onto your big smelly head.” And with that, she exits the room, leaving Guzma and Kyle to either ignore each other or have a heart-to-heart. Probably the former, which is completely fine by Kyle. Guzma proves him correct. So much for respect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kyle's team is based on my own team ayy y y y y . i am a huge sucker for ghost types. and weavile


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> eh . a filler. guz is basically mother gothel

Guzma can’t seem to shake his bad mood ever since _his_ underlings brought Kyle here. He was annoying, talked back too much, and still had Guzma’s hoodie. But he couldn’t let Kyle go for… whatever reason. No, he’s not in love with him. It isn’t that. It’s pretty dumb but all he can think when the topic of letting Kyle go is brought up is how this is just one more thing he’s giving up on. One more thing he’s not going to finish or play out. Like everything else in his fucking life. Like- no. He’s an adult. But Kyle can’t continue staying in his room. Guzma is going to have to break the silence he had implemented at some point.

 

While he had been thinking about all of this, Guzma had been pacing outside of his own room, almost afraid to go inside. _Almost_. He didn’t actually fear the kid. He didn’t fear anything; and so he goes into the room, locking the door behind him. He just stares at the sleeping figure on the bed for a moment. Team Skull had much more pressing matters on their hands such as the Aether Assholes that had been coming around without an invitation. They were irritating, a huge thorn in Guzma’s ass. But of course he decides to dedicate his time to deciding whether continuing to imprison the trial goer was a good idea or not. Probably the latter. Definitely the latter.

 

Kyle stirs, shaking Guzma out of his thoughts. “Hu.. ghn?” Is all Kyle manages to say while half conscious.

 

“Yer gonna hav’ to relocate. My bed is big but I’m takin’ it back.” Not exactly the approach he had been trying for but it’ll work. Kyle just pats the bed next to him as if inviting Guzma to sit. “I’m takin’ my jacket back, too.”

 

Kyle whines and rolls over before a brief look of fear flashes across his face. “Wha..? Where…” He finally sees Guzma and his eyebrows knit together. “Oh.” Had he not known where he was? Whatever.

 

“Out of my bed. Now.”

 

Kyle slowly lowers himself to the floor and scoots about halfway across the room before sliding the hoodie off. “Are you letting me go?”

 

Guzma nearly blows a gasket as anger fills his every pore. Why did this kid piss him off so much? “STOP FUCKING ASKING!” He howls fairly dramatically, out of breath suddenly. “YOU ARE NOT LEAVING THIS TOWN. EVER!”

 

“You’re fuckin’ weird.” It’s all Kyle says. _ **He is**_ **_**f** orcibly removed from the room._ **

  
Guzma can hear the struggle outside of the room and merely drags himself to go see what happened. Kyle escaped again. Guzma closes his eyes. He’s exhausted. He doesn’t go after Kyle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy shit ive been trying. i have no idea where to go anymore w this??? i would also like to apologize about how cliche it all is. when i started, i remember thinking "oh, i want to do something different than the whole kidnapping troupe". im really not sure what happened to that. so edgy, i know.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hau is so pure

Kyle fucking books it out of Po Town, his bag in tow, safely tucked into his side like when he had first entered the town. He runs as fast as he can; lungs burning, legs aching, scared either could go out at any moment as he makes his way to the closest town. He wasn’t even sure where that was exactly- he couldn’t remember. He hadn’t been in Po Town for too long but the whole thing had made his head feel light and his memories a bit muggy. His RotomDex didn’t seem to be working either. He would have to ask Kukui about it.

 

He doesn’t stop running until he actually knocks violently into someone. Someone dressed in all white. Not a good fashion choice. He sits up, a bit dazed and focuses on the person he had just run over. It was a woman trying feverishly to clean up papers that had gone everywhere and Kyle moves to help. The first page he picks up has some depictions of an odd picture. A tear in the sky? What is that near it? A Pokemon? The page is ripped from his hands.

 

“Are you okay? Sorry for knocking into you,” Kyle finally says once he stands up and offers a hand to the woman. She doesn’t take it and regards Kyle coldly.

 

“Team skull.” It isn’t a question.

 

Kyle shakes his head slowly and looks at what he was wearing. He cannot  _ believe  _ he was still dressed like  _ him. _ “Kidnappee,” he corrects. 

 

“You know Guzma?” Where was this going…?

 

“Um. Kinda.”

 

“Help us. We can pay.” Kyle quirks an eyebrow at the thought of getting paid. The outfit looked expensive. Maybe he could have a money bath. 

 

“I wasn’t exactly planning on going back. Who even are you?”

 

“I am an Aether employee. We need the help of Team Skull. They haven’t cooperated and if you were held captive, maybe you were important. We can pay you. Tell Guzma that our offer in return for their grunt work is funding and protection.” There she goes again with the money pitch…

 

Kyle looks sadly at his pokeballs. They were probably starving and Skull had robbed him blind. The offer was tempting. But was he willing to put himself in harm’s way? The answer is probably; and so he accepts. But he will not be going back before going to Kukui and seeing what the hell was up. In Malie garden they had made it clear they knew each other and Kyle was going to need to learn a little bit before going back on another blind date with death. 

 

+++

 

Kyle finally makes his way back to Melemele Island and to the Professor’s… house? Lab? Both? As he’s about to knock on the door, it’s opened by none other than Kukui and Kyle is scooped up in a giant bear hug. Kyle was small, sure, but the professor easily swings him around before finally placing him back onto his feet. Kyle is slightly winded from the flight on Kukui Express but the professor just beams at him with what seems to be a hint of sadness. Or worry. Or something else completely. Kyle isn’t the best at reading expressions. They walk into the small living area where Kyle is greeted by the faces of Hau and Rockruff who both jump up and run to smother Kyle. 

 

“Kyle! Where have you been!?” Hau exclaims. His face is riddled with worry. His eyes have bags. How long has Kyle been gone? “Where have you  _ been _ ? We - the professor and I, and everyone else - we’ve been looking for you!”

 

Kyle lowers his eyes. He’s ashamed to say what happened. That he was careless. Let himself get kidnapped. Let his Pokemon suffer. “I… It was Team Skull.” He’s met with silence besides a small gasp from Hau. He continues. “I was an idiot. I snooped. Got caught. My Pokemon were taken…” Kyle breathes deeply, gathering courage. These were his friends. He can trust them. Trust them. Trust them. Trust them. “I don’t even know how long I was gone. I escaped once and was kept in Guzma’s room. There’s no windows. My RotomDex has been dead. It was pretty boring most of the time, but still…” He trails off once more, hoping someone else will start talking.

 

Kukui extends a hand and Kyle gives him the Dex. “You were gone for about two weeks,” Hau says as Kukui disappears to see if he can get the Dex working again. They watch him go down the stairs and then turn back to each other. “At first, everyone thought you were off just doing your own thing, but…” Kyle nods in understanding. He tries to let everyone knows he’s at least alive every so often. Kukui finally comes back up the stairs and Kyle’s Dex does the floaty thing back to his hands. 

 

“Zzzt?”

 

“Glad you’re okay,” Kyle says to the ghost robot thing, smiling. He looks back up at Hau who seems to be staring intently at Kyle, like he might disappear at any second. “Hey… Kukui?” He says tentatively. The professor sits next to Kyle, looking at him inquisitively. “Can you tell me a little about Guzma? He seems like he has a bunch of unresolved anger problems. And a possible drinking issue.” There had been a multitude of bottles in the room and it concerned Kyle to an extent. 

 

Hau shifts, probably not sure if this conversation was meant for his ears. Kyle didn’t care. He was focused on learning about the big clumsy idiot that runs a gang. Kukui sighs and picks at his lab coat. “Fine. It’s sort of a long story but I’ll keep it short.” Kyle nods and the professor sits back. 

 

“He never actually told me much, growin’ up,” Kukui starts with a deep sigh. “But I knew somethin’ was wrong. We were close during the trials and when Guzma’s guard was down…” Kukui shakes his head sadly. Kyle wasn’t used to seeing the usually scarily optimistic man so serious. Vulnerable. “He tries to gain strength through any means possible so people will respect him. I think, in a way, he’s still trying to prove a point to his dad.” Kukui looks Kyle in the eye, the gaze intense. “Be careful around him, cousin. Be very careful. I don’t think he knows how to love or how to accept any type of praise, if that’s what you’re going to go after.” Kyle shrinks into the couch. He hadn’t really put thought into  _ why  _ he wanted to know about Guzma. He just finds him....  _ Interesting _ . 

 

Kyle nods and stands. “Thank you. I need to go talk to him.”

 

“I’m going with!” Hau shouts, jumping up beside Kyle. His fists are clenched tightly but he still has a grin that says he’s always ready to go. His face falls when the professor puts a hand on his shoulder and shakes his head.

 

“I will stay in touch,” Kyle promises and goes to call for a Ride Pager Charizard. 

 

+++

 

Once in Po Town, Kyle marches straight to the mansion and to Guzma’s room. He really would have been happy if he never saw this place again but he had made a stupid deal with the promise of an unknown amount of money. With one more glance at his pokeballs, Kyle pushes the door open. 

 

Guzma almost doesn’t even look up from his laptop and greets his visitor with an uncaring, “ Whaddya want?”

 

“A deal.”

 

Kyle’s voice makes Guzma’s head snap up and his look of surprise quickly melts into something a little more like a smirk. “What kind of deal?”

 

Kyle explains what the person in white had said and the skull boss seems less than impressed. Kyle guesses they had come around before but he still doesn’t really know  _ who  _ ‘they’ are. 

 

Guzma considers the deal for a moment before standing up. “Go off and tell yer lil’ Aether buddies that I accept. But not before I get something from  _ you. _ ”

  
The way Guzma stares at Kyle makes him want to just disappear on the spot. Everything about the man seemed menacing and malicious; like the very fabric of his being was coded to inflict pain. Maybe it was. Kyle really, really did not want to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: this is so lowkey a character insert. next chapter will be nsfw btw ! it isn't plot critical, i promise so u can just skip it. it'll probs be short and bad anyway


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A pretty short nsfw chapter that isn't particularly plot-critical.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, sorry if this took forever for me to put up! I'm not sure if it's worth the wait. It probably isn't. I haven't written smut in about two years so this was weird for me to do (even though I did it to myself). Just bare with me.

Guzma nods at the two grunts who had been pretty much just loitering in the room and Kyle watches at they leave. They give him weird looks and it makes him even more nervous. When he turns back around, he’s met with the sight of one (1) Guzma pulling down his sweatpants. 

 

“Ya see,” he starts, motioning for Kyle to move closer. “I’ve got a little something for you to take care of. If I’m satisfied, we’ll both go to the Aether Paradise and team up. Sound like a plan?”

 

Kyle inches towards Guzma, the man now towering over him. His voice gets nearly gets stuck in his throat and he manages out, “Uh, sure.”

 

Once Kyle is close enough, Guzma almost doesn’t even have to make Kyle kneel down all the way because of their height differences. Kyle hears him snicker above him and he looks up at Guzma through his eyelashes. That’s what they do in porn, right? Kyle wasn’t sure. He had never done this before and only saw porn once every millennia. He can only guess how much is on that laptop the man keeps.

 

Kyle slowly puts one hand on Guzma’s hip and wraps his other hand around the already half hard cock. He guesses Guz hasn’t gotten any lately. He starts slowly, licking a long stripe from the base of the cock to the tip and then engulfs him. He flattens his tongue, trying to get a rhythm going between his hand and his mouth. Guzma makes small, uncharacteristic sounds that only make Kyle start to go faster and sees how far he can get down his cock before having to come back up for breath. He almost makes it to the base a few times and he really is secretly proud of himself.

 

Guzma growls when Kyle pulls off completely and fists his hair harshly before instructing Kyle to open his mouth and keep it fucking open. He complies and lets his jaw go slack while Guzma roughly fucks his mouth. He had to admit, this wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be… but who thinks so much while getting facefucked?

  
The Skull boss’ fingers seem to tighten even more as he thrusts into Kyle’s mouth, his noises probably alerting the whole fucking mansion of what was happening. Kyle moans around Guzma’s dick and almost as quickly as it had began, the man is coming down his throat and slumping back into his throne with a half-assed attempt at pulling his sweats back up. Kyle nearly falls backwards onto the floor, his knees numb and his jaw aching. He wipes his mouth and says, “I believe we had a deal?”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is just sorta setting future things up thanks

Kyle and Guzma exit the mansion together, having agreed to go to the Aether Paradise as soon as possible. Kyle also had no idea where it was so having a guide was nice. As they leave, they get more than a few odd looks and it makes Kyle want to shrink until he’s about an inch tall so he can go hide in the grass and live as a Pokemon. Kyleon. 

 

On the boat ride, Kyle calls Kukui with a Halocaster he got from a friend and Guzma takes that time to go do Guzma things. Plumeria wanted to tag along “just in case” and moves from her seat beside Kyle once the call is picked up.

 

“Kyle!” The professor looks relieved to see him and Hau waves in the background. 

 

“Struck a deal. On our way to Aether.” Kyle waves back and tries his best to give a reassuring smile. 

 

“You better be careful, yeah.”

 

“Sure thing, dad.” He hangs up the call and looks around to find Guzma before spotting him trying to catch a Wingull flying just far enough out of his reach. Kyle giggles as the Wingull pecks Guzma’s fingers before soaring off and the man looks around to see if anyone noticed. Of course he sees Kyle laughing at him getting pecked so he storms over and stands a bit too close. “Can I help you?”

 

“Am I gunna have ta shut ya up again?” Guzma hisses which only makes Kyle laugh more.

 

A gleam catches Kyle’s eye and he stands up, exclaiming, “Look! Is that it?” Guzma nods and Plumeria saunters back over, standing silently next to the two of them. Once the boat finally docks in the pristine artificial island, Kyle hops out excitedly. The place was big and seemed like it would be fun to explore but they had to meet with the head of the place. Ludacris or Listerine or something like that. Kyle isn’t good with names.

 

The three of them (accompanied by an Aether worker) make their way through the establishment before finally coming to a floor where they meet a blonde lady with weird hair at the back of a sort of garden. Seriously, why is her hair  _ like that _ ? Another woman called Wicke stands nearby and doesn’t speak to the trio too much.

 

“Finally, you have accepted our invitation! I am Lusamine. I hope you know how much we absolutely  _ need  _ you and the rest of your misfits,” Lusamine says loudly and Guzma straightens up, giving a crooked smile. 

 

“Really? Well, if ya had said I was so important earlier…”

 

“And thank  _ you _ , Kyle, for helping us get our dear Guzma here.” She clasps her hands together and looks between the two of them. Plumeria stands a ways back, overseeing the whole exchange. Lusamine does not address her.

 

The conversation continues with the Aether president praising Guzma and talking about what they need until preparations for Lusamine’s “master plan” are complete. Whatever that plan is. All they need to do is listen to orders from Aether and capture something called “Cosmog” that a blonde little girl might be handling. Kyle will also have to keep around Team Skull in case he’s needed again because he was such a  _ huge  _ help with what the Aether employees couldn’t do before. Easy enough, yeah? Wicke catches Kyle as the trio leaves, handing him his compensation for helping.

 

As they board the boat to go back to Po Town, Guzma gleams with pride. Lusamine seemed to almost coddle Guzma, obviously making him feel pretty special. The man was headstrong but her words seemed to deeply resonate within him. With the stress of finishing up the deal now gone, the two of them actually have nice talks about different things on the boat ride. Plumeria adds to the conversation sometimes, eyeing Kyle every so often but he can't figure out why. Guzma loosens up after Kyle tells a few really bad jokes and it's almost like they're old friends and one of them never kidnapped the other. Once they’re standing outside the walls of Po Town, Guzma turns to Kyle. 

 

“I want ya to be a part of Team Skull.” He shuffles and scratches the back of his neck. “Ya know… Yer strong. Strong in battle and seem to be pretty good at gettin’ what ya want. I think ya would make us even better than we already are!”

  
Kyle purses his lips and crosses his arms. “Give me about a day. If I say yes, I expect to be more than just a grunt.” And with that, he turns on his heel and makes his way to see Kukui. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry updates are so erratic! I have no schedule and never get anything done so I'm really trying. thank u for being patient


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> guzma is a shy baby and kyle has a friendly shiny sylveon

Kyle doesn’t bother knocking once he gets back to Guzma’s door. A grunt tries to stop him as he tries to get in but Kyle fights her off and finally gets the knob turned. “I’m in!” He announces, throwing the door open. The sight he is greeted with is Guzma going down on what Kyle supposes is another grunt and he shrieks before slamming the door and backing into the corner of the hallway, covering his eyes. Laughter can be heard from the room before a slightly disheveled Guzma appears in the doorway a few moments later, a smirk on his lips. The girl squeezes past him, sprinting to the stairs with the skull beanie clutched to her chest. Poor girl.

 

Kyle looks up at Guzma through his fingers and glares.

 

“Not like ya haven’t seen it before, doll. Shoulda knocked anyway,” he says, leaning against the door frame. He runs a hand through his unruly white mop of hair and raises an eyebrow. “Need somethin’?”

 

Kyle scrunches up his nose as Guzma lights a cigarette and crosses his arms. “Don’t… don’t call me doll. I was saying I’ll be a part of your shenanigans as long as I’m not just a grunt. Which I know I’ve said before.” 

 

“Well, doll, we already got an enforcer… how ‘bout you becomin’ an admin jus' like Plums?” Guzma suggests, putting his cigarette out on the wall before it’s even halfway gone. Kyle hesitates before nodding, sticking his hand out for Guzma to shake it. He instead smacks Kyle on the back of his shoulder and walks off to do whatever, leaving Kyle to fend for himself. He looks over to see Plumeria at the broken window staring daggers at Kyle. She crosses her arms and closes the wide gap between them.

 

“I don’t know what you’re playing at, but I won’t let you take my spot in this family.” She leans over, hands now on her hips and pops a large bubble of gum in Kyle's face.

 

Kyle tries to step back and knocks into the wall. “I don’t know what you mean, I’m just doing what Aether asks of me. I’m not your enemy.”

 

“You might have Guzma fooled but that man is my best friend. I didn’t approve of him keeping you hostage but I will always consider you an enemy and a threat. This whole Aether stunt is stupid, too. Don’t make things worse around here.” She goes back to the window, turning around to give Kyle one more evil eye before doing a stunt jump down from the roof. Kyle groans and slides down the wall. Another grunt comes up the stairs and plops down beside Kyle, handing him a set of clothing. 

 

“Here, it’s sort of a mixture of grunt clothing… we didn’t know what you wanted,” she says, giving a small smile. It has both of the grunt’s clothing styles and even has two bottles of dye wrapped up. “I’m Aria by the way!” She sticks out a hand and Kyle shakes it curtly.

 

“This was quick… thank you. I’m Kyle,” he says and twists a few strands of his hair between his fingers. It had been a dark purple but had started fading a while ago. “Nice to meet you Aria.”

 

“We’ll get you some more unique clothing since you’re not a grunt, don’t worry!” The girl hops up and motions towards a door not far from Guzma’s. “This will be your room!” Aria then sprints down the hallway where she meets up with a few other grunts and they all descend the staircase. Once they’re out of sight, Kyle takes a look around the room she had been shown before flipping a light on. It flickers a few times before casting a steady pale yellow glow over the room, illuminating a wood floor, a medium sized bed shoved into the left corner, a rolled up rug against the opposite wall, and a small covered window between the two.  He slumps onto the bed before letting his Pokemon out, Sylveon immediately curling up in his lap with a big yawn. Froslass and Mismagius twirl around each other and Weavile tears the curtains down from the window. The morning light shines through the ghosts and they retreat to a darker corner. Decidueye takes in the room before giving Kyle a bored look and begins to groom his feathers. Last, but not least, Alakazam goes to the last empty corner and begins to meditate, its spoons circling it. Kyle lays back completely and sighs. Sylveon walks up Kyle’s torso and wraps its ribbons around Kyle’s forearms as he rubs its pretty blue head.

 

_ What an odd color for a Sylveon! _ Kukui had exclaimed the first time he saw it.

 

_ What an odd goatee for a professor,  _ Kyle had thought.

 

He gives the Pokemon one last pat before shooing it off so he can change into the grunt clothing. He opts for the male clothing, giggling at the way it sags off his body. No matter; he’d have something different later. Kyle shivers as a cold gust of wind blows through the wind, carrying rain that chills him to the bone. He shoots a look at Weavile who just shrugs before shutting the window again. Oh, how he wishes he had Guzma’s jacket again. Or he could just get his own. Yeah, that’s the better of the two options. 

 

As Kyle sits in his room waiting for _anything_ to happen, he fiddles with his Z-Ring. It had been given to him when the captains thought he was going to try the trials. He felt like he was too old but didn’t want to disappoint so he went through a few before ending up at Po Town. Not the best turn of events but interesting nonetheless. He was pretty grateful for it, honestly. After the wash, rinse, repeat cycles throughout Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos… This really was a whole new experience. Sure,  becoming champion and saving the earth from certain destruction because of some weird “evil” group was cool and all but after nine years of it… You understand. 

  
  


Sure, Team Skull aren’t exactly churchgoers but they’re more annoying to local law enforcement than evil. Before Kyle escaped, Guzma had said something about nobody standing up for them. They’re all just a bunch of kids looking for strength in numbers is all Kyle can guess. As he’s lost in thought, he doesn’t notice Guzma come in until he says Kyle’s name who then screeches and nearly rolls over onto Sylveon who yaps in disagreement.

 

“Sorry, Syl. What do you need, Guzma?” Kyle asks while smoothing out Sylveon’s fur.

 

“Well… yer the new admin and we’re probably gon’ be spendin’ a lot of time together so I was thinkin’ we could go for a drink or somethin’,” He says all in one breath.

 

Kyle cocks his head at the man. “Are you asking me out, Mr. Guzma?”

 

Guzma takes a step back. “No!” He sputters. “Just don’t have any other job for ya right now so I thought we could, ya know, get to know each other some.” 

 

“I mean that totally sounds like a date, but sure,” Kyle says, making finger guns. Weavile takes one of his hands and inspects it while Sylveon crawls over to Guzma, reaching its ribbons out to him. “Aw, I think he likes you!”

 

Guzma backs even further away. “Yeah, I’ll be back later to collect ya.”

 

Great, even more waiting!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly dont ask where this is going because i dont know.  
> if you wanna follow me on tumblr, im ladylopunny !  
> 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the mansion is dirty and kyle is a small baby that you shouldn't yell at

Kyle looks around his new room and sighs. Dirty and unused, the space is going to be hell to clean. He hops up and begins a search around the mansion for cleaning tools of any kind before finding them hidden away in the kitchen. He supposes he’ll have to clean in there as well if he’s ever to set foot in there again. Kyle mutters a few swear words as he hands a soapy bucket to Alakazam to be carried back to the room. He loads up his own arms with what he can find and treks back to his room, dumping it all onto the floor which frightens Sylveon who had been trying to nap.

 

“Go on! Cause trouble somewhere else while I get this cleaned up!” Kyle says with a laugh, his Pokemon happily rushing past him to go explore. Alakazam stays behind to help its trainer, lifting the bed in a show of psychic magnificence while Kyle gets to work scrubbing the floor underneath. By the time Kyle takes a break and steps out onto the roof, the sun is nearly ready to set and Kyle lets out a long whistle. “We worked hard, huh?” He gives Alakazam a scratch on its chin and looks around without moving much from his spot against the wall. “Where are the rest?” He wonders aloud and almost jumps out of his skin when Sylveon brushes against his legs, letting out a small cry as if to answer Kyle’s question. He picks up the Pokemon and rubs his face against the smooth fur, Sylveon wrapping it’s ribbons around it’s trainer’s arms. Kyle grins as the rest of his team joins them on the roof.  

 

“‘Veon!” Sylveon shouts and jumps down. Kyle motions for them all to follow and proudly shows off his and Alakazam’s handiwork in the previously dingy room. The bed was now dust free and organized with a few old plushes propped up against two pillows. With the dirt now gone, the plush rug was a rich blue and covered most of the wood floor, making up for a lack of Pokemon beds. A small-ish perch they had managed to salvage is set up in the corner and Decidueye eyes it before looking back at Kyle with an almost appreciative look on its otherwise idle face. The few paintings that hadn’t been vandalized in the house now hang on the walls and Kyle shrieks happily, doing a shitty pirouette before collapsing onto the rug. Decidueye flaps silently over to the perch and settles in, paying no mind to Kyle or the rest of the Pokemon. Mismagius and Froslass resume their act of twirling around each other and Sylveon prances around on Kyle’s stomach. Weavile is leaned against the bed with its arms crossed and taps its foot to some silent beat as it watches the commotion. The moment is lighthearted and Kyle almost forgets they’re stuck with a criminal organization for the time being until he notices Guzma at the door. He quickly ushers Sylveon onto the bed and stands up.

 

“How long have you been standing there?”

 

“Long enough to see you bein’ a fuckin’ dork. C’mon, let’s go get that drink,” he says. Kyle nods and returns only Weavile to its ball to take with.

 

“Watch them,” Kyle instructs Alakazam before making a ‘I’m watching you’ motion towards the rest. The two leave the room and quickly descend the stairs. Kyle catches a glimpse of what he thinks is Plumeria watching them from a room but when he looks back, nobody is there. Kyle shakes his head and Guzma pulls him out into the rain. It’s heavier than usual and Kyle looks up at the sky, blinking as raindrops fall into his eyes. Guzma once again drags him along and they run through the town to the gate and finally get outside. The rain is lighter outside of the walls and they take a moment to breathe, looking at each other and laughing. The dark circles under his eyes seem to be ebbing and Kyle assumes the reason it took so long for him to get him is because maybe Guzma actually got some rest. Whatever it was, it seems to have put the man into a much better mood than usual.

 

“Let’s get going!” Guzma says, a rare smile plastered on his face and so they go. As they pass a nearby police station, an odd colored Meowth runs and claws at Guzma’s leg before his shoos it off. “You need to keep yer cats in check,” he says to an unhappy looking man lounging outside of the station. A few more Meowth can be seen in the window, watching the pair as they travel.

 

“Why do they look like that? Are they okay?” Kyle asks Guzma under his breath, motioning towards the Meowth.

 

“What? They all look like that here. ‘Cept for that Moon kid’s Meowth. Haven’t ya seen ‘em around before?”

 

“Oh. No.”

 

Guzma just shrugs at him and they finally make it to some docks with a fairly suspicious looking boat tied up. Guzma ignores Kyle’s hesitation and soon they’re weaving through rocks and coming up to shore. They land at Tapu Village and Guzma leads Kyle to the Pokemon Center where they apparently carry Guzma’s favorite drink. The white haired man walks into the Pokemon Center first and proudly struts to the cafe. Kyle follows silently behind and he can see the tender behind the bar probably wishing he hadn’t gone to work that day.

 

“Welcome to the Pokemon Center Cafe, ma’am and, uh, sir. What can I get for you today?”

 

Kyle shrinks back behind the taller man who replies, “A Tapu Cocoa for me, and just a lemonade for my _boy_ right here.” He puts emphasis on ‘boy’ and the man behind the counter merely nods in understanding. Guzma hands him money, much to Kyle’s relief, and their drinks come quickly.

 

As Kyle and Guzma sit down, the few people that had been at the tables quickly get up and leave. Kyle shrugs and leans back, sipping his drink slowly. Guzma seems to practically inhale his before putting it down. There’s less than half left, Kyle notes.

 

“So how did ya get Kukui to let ya tangle with us?” He asks, an amused smirk gracing his features.

 

 _Tangle? Okay._ “Um, well, I didn’t exactly… tell him…” Kyle answers and hides his face behind his cup. “I knew he would try to stop me so I slept on his couch and snuck out the next morning.”

 

Guzma laughs loudly which startles two kids sitting at the cafe. The cafe man and nurse pay no mind to him, probably used to his outbursts. “Yer really shapin’ up to be a part of us!” He picks up his cocoa again and finishes it in one large swallow. Kyle can’t help but giggle at how absolutely hilarious Guzma seems to find this fact. “Why’d he have ya sleep on the couch, though? From what I remember, he has a spare bed in his loft thing.”

 

Kyle shakes his head. “Someone else uses it. Her name is…” he trails off as he tries to remember and snaps his fingers once it comes to him. “Lillie! She had the cutest little sparkly cloud that said ‘pew’ a lot and-”

 

“CLOUD?” Guzma stands abruptly, almost knocking his chair to the floor.

 

“Watch it!” The man at the cafe yells.

 

Guzma ignores him and leans across the table. “That fuckin’ cloud is Cosmog! Ya let it get away! Fuck!” He jabs a finger at Kyle and is reprimanded again for swearing but he still doesn’t acknowledge him.

 

“I didn’t know! Lusamine didn’t show me what it looks like!” Kyle waves his hands in front of his face defensively.

 

“Let’s just fuckin’ get back to Po Town. We’ll discuss getting the cloud later now that we know where it could be.” Kyle feels small and stupid and trails behind Guzma as they leave, their cups forgotten on the table. They’re quiet on the way back and as they approach the ominous fortress that is Po Town, a younger looking boy steps towards them from the shadows.

 

“Guzma, I must-”

 

“Not now, Gladion,” Guzma interrupts and walks right past him and into the town. Kyle hesitates before deciding not to follow.

 

“Who are you?” Kyle asks the boy as soon as Guzma is gone. “A part of Skull?”

 

Gladion shrugs and looks Kyle up and down. “Guess you could say that. Who are you? A grunt trying to get in Guzma’s pants?”

 

Kyle’s face heats up and he shakes his head violently. “N-no! I’m a new admin for now. I’m Kyle,” he says and sticks out a tense hand. Gladion shakes it slowly and eyes Kyle. “I’ll have you know I’ve already gotten into his pants,” he adds with a smirk. The boy squirms a bit and picks at a tear in his jacket.

 

“Since you’re apparently an admin, battle me. I won’t take no for an answer.” He hides half of his face behind his hand in a weird pose. Kyle ultimately decides he will not embarrass himself by striking a pose. He searches his bag for pokeballs before remembering that he only has Weavile and chews on his lip nervously. Weavile is strong but he has no idea what type of Pokemon Gladion might have. Then again this could definitely help blow off any steam Kyle might still be letting simmer after Guzma decided to be an asshole.

 

“I’ll do it.”

 

The battle is much too close for comfort but with a final ice beam, Weavile finally knocks out Gladion’s last Pokemon. It’s one he’s never seen before and it was strong, but Weavile is fast and packs a hard punch. The ice Pokemon staggers a bit towards Kyle, giving him a tired smile and Kyle can’t help but jump around and praise it loudly.

 

“Hmph,” is all Gladion says before walking down the path opposite of Po Town. Kyle watches him leave for a minute before going to check on the rest of his Pokemon.

 

+++

 

“Wanna tell me why you’re so pissed at the poor kid for something he didn’t know?” Guzma looks up from his laptop to see Plumeria at the door.

 

He narrows his eyes and leans back. “I don’t get ya, Plume,” he says instead of answering her question. She raises an eyebrow and he continues. “First ya bitch at me about being nice to the kid, then you say you don’t like ‘em, and now yer defendin’ ‘em again. What’s up with that, huh?”

 

She rolls her eyes as far back as humanly possible before stepping further into the room. “I don’t like him. But you need to keep a fuckin’ lid on your anger. Your outbursts are going to get you in trouble. Kyle’s a powerful asset no matter how much we don’t like him and you made a deal with Aether.”  Guzma huffs and waves a hand vaguely. “At least apologize to him.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Get outta here.”

 

“Dumbass,” Plumeria says before shutting the door behind her.

  
“Where the hell even is he?” Guzma asks himself as he kicks at the rug at his feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is super late !! I've been trying really hard to make this chapter good. I was also super busy for a few days. Hopefully another chapter will be up very soon after this. 
> 
> I know this seems to be going very slowly but Guzma hasn't been the nicest so like... why would they just fall in love right now? I'll start to add some ~romance~ in the next few chapters, though. :) 
> 
> And thank you to everyone who reads, leaves kudos, and comments! It means very very much to me. Critique is also always welcome because I'm always working to make my writing better. Thank you!


	11. Chapter 11

Kyle somehow manages to sneak into his room without alerting Guzma to his presence. Well, he assumes he didn’t but he doesn’t know for sure. Anyway. Kyle flops down onto his bed and is immediately swarmed by his Pokemon. He giggles and lets Weavile out as well before he forgets. “Hey, guys.” His voice is weary and almost foreign to even him and his friends seem to get even closer, concerned by him being upset.

 

“Kyyyyleeee!” A voice sings from the doorway and Kyle mentally kicks himself for not closing or locking the door. Do these doors even lock? When he looks over, Aria is in the doorway with a huge smile on her face. She has a small package in her hands and fidgets with it. Once she sees Kyle, though, her smile drops. “What’s shakin’, honey? Did ya lose a dance battle or somethin’?”

 

Kyle shakes his head and laughs a little bit. “No, nothing like that. Guzma’s just a bit of a dick I guess.” He offers a small smile and pushes himself up to make space in case Aria might want to sit down. His Pokemon clear a spot for her and she happily accepts the invitation, setting the package on the side Kyle isn’t sitting. “What’s up? Need something?”

 

She shakes her head and shrugs, looking around the room. “No, just wanted to come say hi. This place looks nice. Maybe you could clean the rest of the house!” She ends her sentence with a laugh. A light tinkling of a laugh that makes Kyle smile. Her optimism reminds him of Hau.

 

“Yeah, maybe.”

 

Aria smiles in response and blinks before seeming to remember the package she had brought in. “Look!” She says and presents it proudly. It’s wrapped crudely and Kyle can see fabric jutting out of a hole. Aria hands it to Kyle and claps her hands excitedly. “Open it! A few other grunts helped me put it together!”

 

Kyle raises his eyebrows and unwraps it slowly before a few pieces of clothing fall out. “Wow,” he says, admiring the outfit. It’s very similar to the female grunt outfit but the top is modified to be a loose crop top, there’s a zigzag headband, some tights, and what appears to be a choker. The face scarf and shorts remain the same as the grunts’. How edgy. “Wow,” he mumbles again and looks up at Aria. “That was pretty quick. Thank you. You should introduce me to those other grunts tomorrow.” She grins and nods. Kyle folds the clothing up and puts it on top of his bag before stretching and yawning. A particularly bad smell reaches his nose and he makes a face. Sniffing around, he finally realizes the smell is actually him and he nearly wretches. “Um. Aria, where’s the bathroom in this place? I kinda really need a shower.”

 

“Oh!” Aria says and gives him basic instructions, which he hopes he can remember and follow. “The water isn’t exactly warm, though. Sorry”

 

“Thanks for the clothes, Aria. I expect to meet the grunts tomorrow.”

 

“Of course!” And with that, she leaves, waving quickly.

 

Kyle groans and pushes himself off the bed before slipping out of the room to find the bathroom. It’s close enough to his room which he’s thankful for and looks around for towels and anything that could possibly be shampoo. Opening up a small cupboard, Kyle finds multiple dye-stained towels and smiles, imagining the dye parties the grunts might have. Cute. He tosses his dirty grunt clothing into a large pile of dirty clothing and wrinkles his nose. He’ll definitely need to find a way to do laundry and will probably end up cleaning the entire house before the week is over. Kyle simply shrugs before hopping in the shower and cleaning days of grime and Guzma out of his skin and hair. The water isn’t freezing but it also isn’t exactly what you would call pleasant and Kyle hopes to be out as quickly as possible. Also so he can go the fuck to sleep soon. As he washes his hair, he debates on how he’ll dye it. Maybe blue with some pink? Probably. Once he’s out, he searches around for the clothes Aria gave him and- oh. Oh _shit_ . He forgot them in the room. _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_ Kyle looks to the dirty clothes and frowns. What he had been wearing was now lost amongst the other grunt clothing and he definitely wasn’t risking putting on someone else’s. He bites at his lips as he carefully wraps a towel around his body, cursing as it dips too low when he pulls it down and reaches too high when pulled up. He also feels stupid for not even having a binder to cover his chest. Fuck.

 

Sighing loudly, Kyle peeks his head out into the hallway to make sure nobody is there before making a break for his room. The halls are clear and he breathes in deeply before making a mad dash for his room. A few feet from his door, something blocks his path and he nearly gets knocked over when he slams into it. Looking up, Kyle realizes it’s Guzma and the man just smirks. _Oh god, oh god, oh god._

 

“Kyle, I, uh, need ta say somethin’.” His face is angled upward, his gaze fixed on something behind him.

 

“That’s nice, Guzma, my man, but can it wait a minute?” Kyle hops around on his toes, anxious to get past him.

 

“No, it really can’t.” He runs a hand through his hair before looking down at Kyle. “Look, I’m… Ya know, right? Like, I’m s- I’m- Are you naked?” What little color had been in his face is suddenly gone and a light pink slowly rises. “Uh-”

 

“Guzma! Just let me past and we can talk!” Guzma blinks and sidesteps, allowing Kyle past. He zooms into the room and throws on the clothing, stopping only long enough to contemplate how Aria possibly knew what size clothing he wears. Once he steps back out in the hall, Guzma seems to be collecting himself and his thoughts.

 

“You were naked.”

 

“Yeah, it was obviously so difficult to notice. What were you going to say?” He leans against the doorway with his arms crossed. He taps a finger against his upper arm and raises an eyebrow. The two actions seem to be common around the household.

 

Guzma clears his throat and his eyes travel over Kyle’s body for a second. His light blush remains. “I wanted to say that I’m… do I really gotta say it?”

 

Kyle rolls his eyes dramatically and steps closer to Guzma. “Guess not, since ‘sorry’ doesn’t seem to be included in your vocabulary. Just don’t be a dick and everything will be fine.” He pats Guzma’s arm and turns back to his room.

 

“Where ya goin’?”

 

“The bowels of my mind as I take a trip straight into Sleepville. I’m tired as shit. Goodnight.” He closes the door before Guzma can say anything else and is happy to find a lock which he quickly turns. He quickly changes into some pajamas that he had kept with him, the smell of his travels comforting any worries. Kyle looks around the room and takes attendance to make sure all of his Pokemon are there and falls backwards onto the bed once everyone is accounted for. He stretches out and smiles as Sylveon jumps up with him. It curls up against his stomach and everything is okay.

 

+++

 

Kyle awakes with a start, a scream stuck in his throat and alarms going off in his head with the heavy weight of dread on his chest. Kyle shoots up and looks at his hands as they shake before looking around the room slowly. He’s here. He’s safe. His Pokemon are here. They are safe. Deep breaths. Kyle leans forward. _What should he do? He can’t be alone. Guzma’s room?_ He shakes his head, pulls his knees up, and puts his hands over his ears. A nightmare. It was a nightmare. Kyle twists to look out his small window, light from the moon filtering in. It’s still night. Sylveon stirs from its new spot at the end of the bed and stretches its front paws out while yawning.

 

“Sylve?” Sylveon’s voice breaks the silence of the night. It begins to walk towards Kyle and continues to stretch between each step. Kyle rubs its head once it reaches him.

 

“I’m fine, it’s the same as always.” He gives a tired smile. Sylveon seems to accept his plea and lays down contently. The rest of his Pokemon don’t wake up and an oddly human-like snore comes from Weavile. Kyle stands up and creeps to the door, careful not to step on any of them. He tries the handle and a moment of panic grips his chest when it doesn’t open before he realizes _he_ was the one to lock it. His pajama pants swish around his ankles as he tiptoes up to Guzma’s door. Would he turn Kyle away? The team is a big family so shouldn’t he at least try to make Kyle feel better? Kyle will have to remember to blame this visit on either sleepwalking or exhaustion clouding his judgement.

 

He slowly opens the door, surprised it isn’t unlocked. One he’s able to see into the room, he notices a lamp is on and a very tired looking Guzma is slumped over in his seat. He’s staring blankly at his laptop and blinks at Kyle before squinting at him as if trying to see clearly.

 

“Eh? Whatcha doin’ up?” He sits up a bit straighter and Kyle steps further into the room.

 

“You and your grunts are family, yeah? I know we aren’t exactly friends-” Guzma snorts. “-but my Pokemon aren’t the best solace, no matter how much they try.” He debates whether or not to just run out of the room and forget this happened. Guzma stands up.

  


“Nightmares?” He trudges to his bed and sits, patting next to him. The circles under his eyes are darker than ever and Kyle feels a twinge of guilt.

 

“Kinda. Night terrors.” He sits on the bed and crosses his legs, pulling them up after a second. Guzma hands him a pillow and he hugs it tightly.

 

“I’m not much ta talk ‘bout this kinda stuff, but if ya wanna talk, go ahead.” And so he talks.

 

He tells Guzma about how he’s always had the terrors, waking up multiple times in a week. It impacted his life but with such a large phobia of failure, Kyle needed to persevere. He did persevere. Championships. Contests. The Leagues. And yet, every night, he wakes up more terrified than he’s ever been. Every time the dream changes, the dread is more alarming. More in his face.

 

Each nightmare is what Kyle thinks is a premonition. They’re always vague, and his father would mock him for bringing them up.

 

 _“Fortune teller, eh, girl? Tell me about it when you actually know shit.”_ And that was that. Kyle squeezes the pillow tightly. They gave him hints to things that would happen. Kyogre. Groudon. Giratina. Kyurem. That crazy fucker Lysandre and Yveltal.  Now the dreams contain beasts he cannot imagine. He has no idea what they are. Where they are. What they’re doing. But they’re terrifying.

 

Kyle runs a hand over his face and looks up at Guzma. “There’s this giant purple… thing. I don’t know what it is but I’m so afraid.” Why is he telling this to Guzma? Who fucking knows. Guzma is leaning forward, seemingly taking in everything he’s saying.

 

“What do ya think is gonna happen?” His usual ‘bad boy’ demeanor is gone.

 

“I… I don’t know,” Kyle says after a minute, staring at a spot on Guzma’s bed. “What time is it, anyway? Why are you awake?”

 

Guzma shrugs and leans back again. “I can never sleep so I’ve just stopped tryin’. Kyle frowns and looks up at Guzma.

 

“Insomnia?”

 

“Yeah, guess so.”

 

Kyle hums in response. “Talking to you actually calmed me down a bit. Maybe I could make you feel better?” He shrugs.

 

Guzma squints. “I ain’t in a sexual mood, if that’s what ya mean.”

 

Kyle jokingly dry heaves. “No, you fucking boob. I can try to sing you to sleep.”

 

Guzma sighs dramatically. “You sure about that?”

 

“Yeah, totally. Just lay down, I won’t make fun of you if you snore.”

 

Guzma rolls his eyes and takes a few minutes to get comfortable. He glares at Kyle tiredly once he’s settled in and Kyle just smiles at him.

 

_"And at last I see the light_

_And it's like the fog has lifted_

_And at last I see the light_

_And it's like the sky is new_

_And it's warm and real and bright_

_And the world has somehow shifted_

_All at once everything looks different_

_Now that I see you..."_


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A warning: this chapter is 4.2k words. I was going to chop it in half but I could not find a decent place to do it. SO HERE IT FUCKING IS.  
> I'm so sorry this is five days later than I had said but it is a LOT so please cut me some slack. It's also 4:20am so I apologize. I'm not joking. I am posting this at 4:20am.  
> ANYWAY comments and feedback are very very very appreciated! Please leave feedback! Just bang your face onto your keyboard if you want. I would be ecstatic. ay follow me on tumblr @ ladylopunny though Thankz  
> Anyway have fun reading 4.2k words

Kyle wakes up slowly, sleep clogging his brain and eyes. He rubs at his eyes fiercely for a second and blinks in the lamp light, realizing he forgot to turn them off. Kyle starts to sit up but a light pressure on his side stops him. Looking for the source, Kyle sees an arm and… Oh _no_. He stifles a shout and slaps a hand over his mouth.

 

_Okay, okay. This is fine. He’s just snuggling the fucking boss of Team Skull. This is okay!_

 

Kyle takes one more look at Guzma (totally not thinking about how cute he is while he’s asleep) and slowly wiggles himself out from under the arm, careful not to disturb the sleeping man. Kyle finally lets out the breath he had been holding once he’s free Guzma’s arm and goes to stand up but is immediately stopped short when a hand grabs his wrist.

 

_Fuck._

 

He slowly turns to see Guzma looking at Kyle with heavy-lidded eyes. Kyle gives an awkward half smile, an intense blush beginning to form He starts to apologize for falling asleep in there but Guzma just holds up his free hand to silence him.

 

“It’s ‘kay. Best sleep I’ve had in forever.” Kyle breathes in and purses his mouth. “Don’t mind if ya stay in here more often,” Guzma finishes with a small smirk and Kyle breathes out.

 

“I don’t know about that, my Pokemon might actually kill you.” He giggles quietly and lightly twists his wrist out of Guzma’s grip. “I think I might clean up the mansion once I’m more awake. As an admin, I should really earn my keep.”

 

Guzma lets his hand fall to the bed and nods, propping himself up with his other arm. “Yeah, that’s chill. Do what ya want.”

 

“What about you?” Kyle pulls up one knee and rests his arms on it. “Do you actually do anything besides harass kids and kidnap people who may or may not become an unlikely friend?”

 

“Me an’ Plum actually have shit to do today,” he retorts, rolling his eyes as dramatically as possible. “By the way,” he begins, twisting his body so he can reach behind the bed. “Take this.” Kyle is handed a watch very similar to Guzma’s own and he admires it silently. “If ya decide to go out, use that to meet me back here around 2pm. I still need to formally introduce ya to the rest of the squad.”

 

Kyle turns the watch slowly, the pale gold glinting in the lamp light. If the time on the watch is indeed correct, it’s only about 10am. “I appreciate the offer but I can’t take this,” Kyle says slowly, choosing his words as not to upset Guzma. “I have my RotomDex to tell me the time, anyway.” He offers the watch back and an unreadable expression crosses Guzma’s face before he snatches it back.

 

“Whateva’ you say, doll. Just be back by two.” Guzma sneers before putting the watch back from where he had gotten it. “Was just tryin’ to be nice,” he mutters under his breath.

 

Kyle decides to ignore the last part. “I think I’ll go let my Pokemon know I’m not dead. See you around 2.” He pats Guzma’s shoulder and gets up to leave.

 

+++

 

The room is suddenly empty and cold once Kyle is gone and Guzma lets himself fall back onto his bed before taking one of his pillows and pressing it against his face. He leaves it there for a moment, only peaking out from under it when he hears the door open again. He watched as Plumeria walks in and sits on the edge of the bed, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back on her hands.

 

“You gonna be ready to go soon, boss?” She asks before popping a large bubble of gum. Guzma tosses the pillow at her and she swats it away easily.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Lemme jus’ get up.” He sits up and jams the heels of his hands into his eyes, only stopping when shapes dance behind his eyelids. He shoos Plumeria off the bed once his sight is back and swings his legs over the side. He digs his toes into the rug before forcing himself up. He stretches and a his back makes a loud _pop!_ to which Plumeria makes a disgusted _ugh._ Guzma shoves his feet into his shoes and plucks his shades from beside the pillow. “Les’ go.”

 

“Yeah, whatever,” she says. He claps her on the back and she flips him off before they leave, headed for Melemele. Once there, they stake out at Kukui’s lab, watching for Lillie and the stupid cloud. Pew.

 

+++

 

Back at the mansion, Kyle finally leaves his room, followed by his Pokemon, all of them ready to clean. They start downstairs, moving furniture and shoving trash into bags. There isn’t much they can do about the graffiti but it’s pretty fitting once you remember it’s a house overrun by a gang. He sets a few vases in a corner before deciding to put them in Guzma’s room. He can smash them later if he would like. The random bed is shoved into the store room. Maybe some Pokemon can sleep in there? They then get to work in the dining room. A few random grunts help, claiming they don’t have anything else to do and Kyle definitely appreciates the gesture.

 

In the dining room, Weavile helps Kyle move the tables and set up chairs, making it all at least decent. Sylveon stands in a corner, yipping and yapping as their own personal cheerleader egging them on. An unusable chair is broken up and thrown into the fireplace, Mismagius using Will-O-Wisp to light it. Kyle then makes his way to the kitchen and groans once he sees it. It isn’t too unsalvageable but there’s a lot of big things to move. As he’s surveying the room, he hears the door open and turns to see Aria.

 

“Hello!” She says, grinning and doing jazz hands. She opens the door wider to show two other grunts huddled together behind her. Aria introduces them as Jason and Hannah, her best friends. Kyle just waves back tiredly and gives his name.

 

“You guys wanna help?” He asks, gesturing towards the room. “My Pokemon are busy with the rest of the first floor.”

 

“Sure!” The trio say in unison and they all get to work.

 

+++

 

On Melemele, Guzma and Plumeria have stopped paying attention to the lab. Instead, they’re playing games on Guzma’s old dex and making jokes.

 

“Wanna just go back?” Plumeria suggests after what seems like an eternity, waving her hand vaguely. “It’s hot here and we can just tell that bitch Lusamine where the girl is.” Guzma agrees and they start back to their Suspicious Boat™. Once on the water, Guzma leans closely to Plumeria and clears his throat.

 

“Plum?”

 

“Hmm?” She’s studying her nails, not really paying attention.

 

“What do ya do when you think ya might like someone.” He rubs his hands together nervously and goes to tug on a strand of hair subconsciously. He’s probably being stupid but he couldn’t forget how _right_ it felt with Kyle in there that night. How soundly he slept, how he woke up elated instead of exhausted and angry for once.

 

“I mainly just wanna punch someone,” Plumeria says, interrupting his thoughts. She shrugs and puts her elbows on her knees, resting her head in her hands. “Why? Does ‘big bad Guzma’ have a crush?” She bats her eyelashes innocently at him before making obnoxious kissy noises.

 

“W-What!?” Guzma yelps, trying the cover the quickly spreading blush. “I was just wonderin’, Plum!” Plumeria laughs loudly, pushing him. “Shut up!” He buries his face in his hands.

 

“Aight, boss. Whatever you say. Just don’t be an idiot about it.”

 

The rest of the ride is spent in moderate silence.

 

+++

 

Kyle slides down the wall with a loud “Woo!” Aria sits next to him and Hannah and Jason sit in front of the two.

 

“Glad that’s over,” Hannah says, brushing hair out of her eyes. Jason leans against her and nods, eyes wide.

 

“Definitely.”

 

Kyle reaches over to look at Aria’s watch to see it’s only 1. “I think I’m gonna go for a walk,” he announces, standing up and brushing his pants off. “You guys stay and make food for everyone else. Unless there’s an actual cook around here. I’ll be back later.” The three salute him before bursting out into laughter and falling onto each other. Kyle rolls his eyes and goes to collect his Pokemon and sneaks out of the town before any grunts can talk to him. Kyle shakes water out of his hair as he’s passing the police station, giving a nod to the Unhappy Man™ that is still outside of the station. Further down the path, he spots a familiar blond hiding by a tree and sneaks up behind him.

 

“Boo!” Kyle whisper-shouts, grabbing Gladion by the sides. The boy jumps and spins around, his entire face red.

 

“You! What the fuck!?” He shakes a fist in Kyle’s face which only makes him laugh and Gladion motions for him to quiet down. He presses against the tree again, peaking around it before pulling Kyle so he can look too. He searches for what Gladion could possibly be looking at before the boy points to a small group of kids. They’re all laughing and jumping around and Kyle squints, trying to see better before he finally notices what the kids are playing with. A small, pink Cutiefly is desperately flying between the kids, trying to escape. When it tries to fly up, one of them swats it down with a tennis racket. Another kid spritzes it with a spray bottle while a particularly mean looking kid is throwing rocks and anything else he picks up.

 

Kyle looks at Gladion, rage building in his chest. Gladion is about to say something when Kyle begins to sprint towards the kids. Gladion calls to him but Kyle marches up to them, shoving one aside.

 

“Hey!” Rock Thrower yells and Spray Bottle Kid throws his spray bottle at Kyle. It lands in the grass a few feet to Kyle’s left.

 

“All of you go the fuck home,” Kyle growls, glaring at each of them. As he’s shooting death glares, he motions towards the Cutiefly, hoping it will trust him.

 

“Oh, no! This bug is _mine!_ ” Tennis Racket shouts, stepping in front of Kyle and puffing out his chest to try and seem more intimidating.

 

“Stupid Team Skull, always making a mess of things,” Spray Bottle Kid spits out.

 

Kyle merely looks at him before grabbing Cutiefly out of the air and making a break back for the tree where Gladion is still hiding. The kids start to chase him but Gladion releases his weird Pokemon and they all stop in their tracks. Kyle slides to a stop once he gets to the tree and drops down, setting the Pokemon on the ground.

 

“Type: Null! Fuck them up!” Gladion commands and his Pokemon roars, its cry almost metallic sounding. Panicked footprints can be heard leaving and Gladion walks back over to where Kyle is sitting. He looks over the bug Pokemon, taking account of its injuries. It tries to fly away from Kyle before finally collapsing into the grass. He takes out a premier ball and gently taps the Cutiefly, the Pokemon too exhausted to fight back and the kid not there to protest. The ball shakes once and Kyle stands up.

 

“I need to get it to a Pokemon Center,” he exclaims and Gladion nods solemnly. “Thank you Gladion and.. Erm… Type: Null.” He puts a hand on Gladion’s shoulder and the boy hides his face even more behind his hair.

 

“Don’t mention it. Ever. Just get it healed.”

 

“Right!” Kyle takes off towards the closest Pokemon Center, cradling Cutiefly’s ball protectively. It’s thankfully not too far and he pushes the ball into the Nurse’s hands before she can say her introduction. “Please, just help it.” He pleads and she nods before taking it back to get it healed. She comes back a moment later, her normally pleasant face unhappy.

 

“Look, training is good but do _not_ allow such hurt to come to your Pokemon!” She scolds, leaning over the counter. “I have half a mind to have it taken from you.”

 

Kyle feels the color drain from his face. “Oh, no, no, no! I didn’t do this-”

 

“Still, Pokemon battles shouldn’t-”

 

“I saved it!” Kyle yells, throwing his hands up. The other people in the Center look up to see what someone could possibly be yelling about. “Please! Just help it so I can be on my way.” Nurse Joy nods solemnly and goes back. Kyle taps his foot impatiently as he waits and grabs the ball from Nurse Joy as soon as she’s back.

 

“Be careful out there.”

 

“Yeah, thank you,” Kyle says, almost out the door already. “Rotom, what time is it?” He asks and the Dex floats out, struggling to keep up as Kyle runs in the direction back to Po Town.

 

“It izz currently 1:56 p-”

 

“Oh my god!” Kyle interrupts and grabs Rotom out of the air, pushing himself to run faster.

 

“We never talk anymore,” Rotom says from Kyle’s armpit. He just rolls his eyes and puts it back into his bag and the premier ball into his pocket. A few feet from the walls, he spots Guzma and Plumeria lounging outside of it and nearly collides into them. Out of breath, he lets himself fall to the ground and sucks air into his lungs, the slight drizzle refreshing to his flushed skin from running.

 

“Hey guys,” he says with a sheepish grin and Plumeria scoffs before going into the town. Guzma reaches a hand down which Kyle gladly takes and Guzma pulls him up without much effort.

 

“Yer late,” he says, leaning over so that they’re nose-to-nose.

 

“Yeah? Well so are you.”

 

“It’s called bein’ ‘fashionably late’.”

 

Kyle giggles before sticking an elbow out and says, “Well, let’s be fashionably late together.” Guzma gives Kyle a small smile before looping their arms and they walk inside together. The downpour is immediate and Kyle presses himself closer into Guzma’s side. He almost distances himself when he feels the man tense but Guzma quickly relaxes. “So why does it rain here and not right outside of the town? Does Tapu Balu just hate you guys?”

 

Guzma looks around at the town, giving an acknowledging nod to the grunt on the truck. “Dunno. It’s always been like that here. Guess the Tapu jus’ doesn’t like this town.” Kyle hums and they push the doors open together. Inside, they’re greeted by a horde of grunts sitting around on the newly arranged furniture. There’s a chorus of ‘hi’s and ‘boss!’s and Kyle shrinks behind Guzma. His chest tightens considerably at just the sheer amount of people in the room but it doesn’t seem to bother Guzma one bit. Where do all of these people even sleep?

 

Kyle unhooks his arm from Guzma’s and backs up, ready to bolt back out the door. The Skull boss puts a hand on Kyle’s shoulder and leads him back to his side, leaning down to reach his ear. “I just need to make sure they know yer an admin for now. You can leave right after.” Kyle nods and Guzma straightens back up, squeezing Kyle’s shoulder reassuringly.

 

“Alright, grunts!” He shouts and the previous murmurs go silent. “This here is Kyle! I know he hasn’t exactly been our best friend before but fer now, he’s an admin. Be nice or I kick yer ass!” A few grunts whisper to each other while a few others just stare.

 

Kyle shifts uncomfortably. “Guz…”

 

“Isn’t he, like, a bitch or somethin'?” One grunt asks while chewing gum loudly. Guzma tenses again and Kyle tears away from his grasp, squeezing past grunts and running up the stairs. He goes straight to Guzma’s room instead of his own, throwing himself onto the bed face first and screaming into a pillow. He can hear commotion downstairs before heavy footsteps start up the stairs. He hears his door being opened before the footsteps make their way to Guzma’s door and they stop for a second before the door is opened. Kyle mentally prays that the person will just fuck off but instead the bed dips as they sit.

 

“Kyle?” Guzma’s voice asks, uncertainty clear.

 

Kyle turns over onto his back and sits up. “They hate me,” he says quietly. He isn’t sure why he’s surprised.

 

He hates him.

 

“They just haven’t had a new admin in a while,” Guzma explains, avoiding Kyle’s gaze. “They just gotta get used to you.” He seems sincere and Kyle tries to rub the tension out of his own shoulder.

 

Kyle forces out a humorless laugh. “Hopefully I won’t be long enough here for that to happen,” he says without thinking and regrets it at soon as the words are out of his mouth. Guzma’s face hardens and he clenches and unclenches a fist. “I said that wrong,” Kyle squeaks, struggling to correct what he said. “I just- I think I need to take longer walks. I-”

 

“Wanna go to the beach?” Guzma interrupts, turning his body to face Kyle.

 

“What?”

 

“Tonight. You can chill in here, I can bring ya alchohol, and we can sneak out tonight to the beach.” Guzma’s eyes are lit up with excitement and who would Kyle be to say no? He accepts and Guzma nods happily. “Okay! I’ll bring somethin’ up but then I’ll have to go back down n’ entertain the kids. You gonna be good here?”

 

“Yeah, definitely,” Kyle tells him and cringes when he hears something being smashed downstairs. Guzma rolls his eyes and swiftly leaves, yelling something once he’s down there. Kyle is glad whatever he said was muffled and lets the Cutiefly out when the yelling stops. It looks around tiredly and squeaks when it spots Kyle. “Hey, little guy, I’m not gonna hurt you.” It flies to the other side of the bed and sits there shaking. Kyle spends the next hour and half trying to coax it towards him, offering some pokebeans he keeps with him. The Pokemon takes one but stays on the other side. Kyle hears Guzma’s heavy footsteps running up the stairs and quickly puts Cutiefly in the ball, not wanting him to see it yet.

 

“Brought ya somethin’ like I said I would!” Guzma announces and hands Kyle some fruity smelling alcohol. Kyle thanks him and he salutes, leaving once again.

 

Not long after, his Holocaster begins to ring and Kyle nearly drops the drink along with the Holocaster when he sees Kukui’s name flash across the screen. Making sure his Skull shirt won’t be in the shot, he picks up the call with shaking hands and sets his drink onto the ground beside the bed.

 

“Kyle!” Kukui yells, relief apparent. Hau is once again behind him and he waves both hands as a large smile forms across his face. “Where have you been!? We’ve looked everywhere, yeah!”

 

“You didn’t think to call until now?”

 

“Well- that doesn’t matter! You’re safe, yeah?” He leans close to the screen and Kyle raises an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Kukui claps his hands together and sits back. “Excellent! Anyway-”

 

Kyle ends the call before the Professor can say anything more and tosses the device onto the bed. He rubs his temples, easing away a headache. What is he going to tell him? That he just decided to join Team Skull? Kukui would never take that as an answer but he can’t just randomly run into Kukui in the streets. The poor man would probably die of a heart attack. Kyle picks up one of the pillows and smushes his face into it, letting out a shriek. He grabs the drink again and throws it back, the sting of alcohol settling on his tongue. As minutes pass, Kukui tries calling back three more times before giving up and Kyle relaxes when a fourth call doesn’t come through.

 

He lets the Cutiefly out once more and tries again to bond with it, the small Pokemon giving in once it’s full on pokebeans. Kyle gently picks it up and cradles it, careful not to spook it.

 

“Hi, cutie,” he coos, stroking its head with his thumb. It stretches its legs out, letting out a small ‘blep’. “I think I’ll call you… Pookie.” Kyle tells it and it looks up at him for a moment before dozing off in his hands. He carefully picks up the pokeball and taps it against the sleeping Pokemon and watches as it disappears into the ball. Hopefully it’s comfortable in the ball.

 

Kyle stretches his legs out, both of his knees popping and lets himself slide down until he’s resting on a pillow. The little bit of alcohol rests uneasily in his stomach and he wonders where they even happened to acquire alcohol. Kyle rests his hand against his stomach with Pookie’s pokeball still in hand and listens to the muffled voices of Team Skull below him. Someone is shouting and Guzma can be distinctly heard laughing loudly.

 

They aren’t that bad. Aside from the Pokemon stealing. But Kyle did that today, too, didn’t he?

 

Kyle isn’t sure when he drifts off but is startled awake when the door is slammed open. He jumps up with a small shriek and Guzma lets out a laugh. “C’mon, doll.” He says, holding out a hand. He’s uncharacteristically cheery but Kyle is too groggy to care much.

 

“Don’ call me doll,” he says, words slurred from sleep and lets Guzma take his hand. He puts Pookie’s ball in his pocket and lets Guzma lead him through the house, one or two grunts giving them looks. Probably because Guzma is most likely drunk and is leading his prized possession to an unknown location. He lets Guzma lead him to the beach, leaning against him for most of the walk. It’s pretty far from Po Town but they chat about different things until the water is at their toes. Nobody is at the beach at that hour and Kyle sits down, digging his fingers and toes into the sand. Guzma sits to his right, eyes locked on the horizon. The water and small islands are illuminated by the moon and the only sounds are the waves and the occasional Pokemon in the distance. It’s quiet. Serene. He watches a Staryu glide through the water before remembering the Pokemon in his pocket.

 

“Guzma?”

 

“Yeh?”

 

He pulls the pokeball from his pocket and presents it. “I have something I want you to have.” He says quietly and lets Pookie out. Being let out disturbs its rest and its fuzz sticks out in alarm when it sees someone other than just Kyle. It flies behind Kyle’s knee and he just rubs its head.

 

“It’s scared of me,” Guzma says with a frown as he watches it.

 

“Its name is Pookie. I rescued it from some stupid kids today,” Kyle whispers and scoops up Pookie, circling it with his hands so it can study Guzma from the safety of Kyle’s hands. It lets out a tiny chirp. “I want you to have it.”

 

Guzma is speechless for a second and his hands hesitate near Kyle’s hands, waiting to see if he can hold Pookie. It seems to deem him safe enough and buzzes cautiously to his hands. He rubs it gently with his thumb and it leans into his touch, bleping happily.

 

Kyle smiles at the exchange, surprised at how gentle Guzma can apparently be. He hands the premier ball to Guzma, praying to whoever will listen that Pookie is going to a good home. He’s heard some things from different grunts about how Guzma can be when he gets mad. Golisopod seems to love him, though, so he probably isn’t horrible to his Pokemon.

 

“T-thank you,” Guzma says in an almost whisper, shaking Kyle out of his thoughts.

 

“Yeah, of course.” Kyle smiles at him, his stomach tightening just the slightest bit when Guzma smiles back.

 

“Haven’t had someone give me somethin’ this nice since Kukui gave me Spinark.” Guzma muses and sets Pookie on his shoulder where it curls up to go back to sleep.

 

“I’m glad you like Pookie. By the way,” Kyle breathes in through his nose heavily before continuing and holding out his closed fist, palm facing the ground. “Can you hold on to this for me?”

 

“Oh?” Is all Guzma says before extending his own hand.

 

Kyle tries easing his stomach as he simply just puts his hand into Guzma’s own, allowing their fingers to intertwine. He hears Guzma breathe in sharply and their hands fall to the sand.

  
Nothing is said between them for a few seconds and with each passing moment, the Beautiflies in Kyle’s stomach are with anxiety. When he can’t handle the pressure any longer, he starts to pull his hand away but Guzma tightens his grip and Kyle doesn’t pull any further away. Guzma's hands tremble slightly and Kyle suspects he isn't much better about it. They sit like that for a while, silence passing between them instead of them talking about how they’re holding hands on a beach in the fucking moonlight. What nerds.


End file.
